The role of the fingers in the development of mental number lines at early childhood

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K13914
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Educational psychology
• Research Institution: Kanazawa University
• Principal Investigator: ASAKAWA ATSUSHI 金沢大学, 学校教育系, 准教授 (00710906)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 心的数直線 / 手指認識 / 身体性 / 認知発達 / 幼児期

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we examined the relationship between the mental number line, which is one of the most important indicators for measuring the development of number ability in infants and children, and the ability to represent numbers at equal intervals, and the fingers. As a result, it was suggested that the mental "object" line, which was pointed out by Okamoto (2010), was formed as a preliminary step to the formation of the abstract number line. In addition, there was a relationship between mental number lines and hand images in kindergarten older children and first graders, while there was no relationship between the both in second graders, suggesting that the object of the mental "object" line may be the fingers.

Free Research Field

発達心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

数量能力の発達は，抽象的な記号操作の発達としてとらえられることが多いが，本研究の成果に基づくと，身体，特に手指との関係の中で発達していくと考えられる。手指などを使用して数を数えたり，計算しているとネガティブにとらえられがちであるが，そのような経験の中でこそ，数をかぞえたり，数量を操作する感覚や数の大きさを認識する感覚を学習していると考えられ，手指を軸に数量能力の発達をとらえなおす必要があることに加え，教育的アプローチにおいても身体を活用した支援の在り方が模索される必要があるだろう。